The Slow Path
by Reetinkerbell
Summary: Seven year old Jack finds out the truth about his parents former life. Major spoilers through Series Four - 'Journey's End'. DoctorxRose.


**Title:** The Slow Path  
**Series:** The Slow Path  
**Author:** Reetinkerbell

**Fandom:** Doctor Who (New)  
**Spoilers:** Through "_Journey's End_"  
**Characters**: Rose Tyler, The Doctor, Other Character.  
**Summary:** Jack finds out the truth about his parents former life.

**Rating: PG  
Word Count:** 2 208  
**Written: **July 2008  
I don't own. Please don't archive without permission.

**The Slow Path (1/1)  
**– – – – –

"Tell me another story about _the Doctor_," Jack smiled up at Rose, his dark brown eyes open wide in excitement. The Doctor stories are his favourites.

Rose pretended to think for a while, as if she'd decide on anything but yes. She always says yes when it comes to story time – they both do.

"Did I tell you about what the Doctor and Captain Jack got up to on Raxacoricofallapatorious?" she asked, teasingly.

Jack rolled his eyes and expelled a sigh of deep suffering. "Yes. You _and_ daddy both."

"You've heard it twice already?" Rose asked, taking a moment to tickle him as she thought. Jack is still so young, their little boy, and the stories they tell him are always child friendly. No wars, no deaths and certainly no evil.

"Three times," Jack corrected her, holding up the right number of fingers in front of her. "From dad. Only once from you. So actually, four times." He held up another finger. "And for some reason every time dad tells the story it's different." He frowned. "Why is that?"

Rose couldn't help but let out a laugh. "You know your dad sweetheart, can't blame him for getting off track."

"I suppose not," Jack agreed with a nod. He does know how his father has a tendency to go off on a subject. "I want to hear something _new_."

"Did I ever tell you about Dårlig ulv stranden?" Rose said the words with feeling, and as she'd expected, she captured all of Jack's attention.

"No," he breathed, leaning closer.

"Well, then you're in for a treat." Rose leaned closer and stage whispered, "You see, I knew the Doctor."

Jack gasped. "_You're_ Lily!" he exclaimed, delighted at the startling new discovery.

Rose laughed, a little surprised. "Yes, I'm Lily."

"Did daddy know the Doctor too?" he asked somewhat distractedly, still reeling at the fact that not only was the Doctor _real_ but his own _mother_ used to travel with him.

"They knew each other very well," Rose told him, smiling down at the boy, his eyes still shining in the soft night light at their side. "In fact, we met through the Doctor. He's the one who got us together."

"He did?" Jack was sitting up in his bed, no trace of the tiredness he'd shown before bedtime.

"Yes. We'd just dropped off Mickey, Sarah-Jane, Martha and Captain Jack with the TARDIS-"

"Wait, wait," Jack held up a hand, halting her. "Are they real _too_?"

Rose's smile widened as she nodded. "That they are."

"Wow," he breathed. Wow didn't even cover it. He'd grown up hearing about these people, worlds too impossible and adventures far too amazing to be real. These people had been characters to him, heroes. To find out they were all real was like finding out Father Christmas wasn't, only in reverse.

"So there we were, the Doctor, Donna, Gran and dad. We'd just come back from driving the TARDIS all together." Jack smiled and nodded, having heard that story many times from his father. "You remember how dad told you about parallel universes?"

Jack nodded.

"Well, the truth is, that Gran and I, as well as your dad, is actually from another universe. That's where the Doctor and Captain Jack and everyone else live, still."

"So, I can't ever met them?" he asked, remembering how his father, many times in his rambling explanation on how parallel universes _supposedly_ worked, told him that it was impossible to travel between them.

"I'm sorry love, but no you can't. But they would've all just loved you."

"Even the Doctor?"

Rose laughed. "I think most especially the Doctor." She ruffled up his wild and dark hair. "The Doctor took us back home here, to Granddad and Uncle Tony."

"But if you're from another universe, why would he take you _back_ here?" Jack asked, frowning.

"That's a story for another day," Rose said. "Don't you want to hear about how your dad and I got together?"

"I do."

"Now, where was I? Ah, yes. So, the Doctor took Grandma and me back here after we saved the world, and though I wanted to continue on travelling with him, he knew that your father needed me more."

Jack frowned. "Mum, you told me that Lily and the Doctor loved each other."

"Very much," Rose agreed.

"But if Lily is really you, that must mean _you_ loved the Doctor," at Rose's nod, he continued, "but if you loved the Doctor why would you want to come back here and be with dad when you could've continued on travelling in the TARDIS?"

Rose sighed. She'd known their decision to ease Jack into their former life by way of story telling and different names would one day blow up a bit in their faces. She had only herself to blame for her current predicament, as they'd decided to tell him the truth together – when Jack was older. All she'd wanted to do was share with her son the love she still held so strongly for the man who'd shown her the universe and, most importantly, given her her family.

She glanced down at her watch. Still three hours at best to go before John came home.

Taking a deep breath, Rose faced her son fully. His eyes were starting to look at her sceptically, and Rose thought he was starting to doubt the Doctor and his companions were real.

"The Doctor can regenerate. Do you remember?"

Jack nodded. His dad had told him many Time Lord Legends, and regeneration had either featured or been mentioned in many of the stories.

"The last time the Doctor regenerated, there was a ship full of aliens trying to take over the Earth. During a fight for the planet, the leader of the alien race cut off the Doctor's hand." Rose paused as she wondered if maybe she shouldn't have mentioned that piece of information. Jack was still just seven. But it was too late to take it back, so she continued on. "Captain Jack found the hand down on Earth and preserved it. When the two met again, Jack returned the hand to the Doctor. By then, I'd already been trapped in this universe with Gran and Mickey, but we figured out a way to return across the universes.

"I went, just in time for the Doctor to almost regenerate again. He was able to push the uh, regeneration particles into the hand Jack had given him, as it used to be a part of his body. You still with me?"

Jack nodded.

"I'm not sure how because I wasn't there at the time, but Donna sparked something in the hand, which caused it to form another Doctor. Only this one was only part Doctor. The other half was human, from Donna.

"After we saved the world, the Doctor decided that it would be best if the other him, the half human, returned with me and Gran. Here." She paused, watching her son as she took a deep breath. "Your dad is the half human-half Time Lord created from the Doctor's hand by Donna."

Jack stared at her. Rose stared back.

"So," Jack finally said, having taken it all in. "I have two dads?"

Rose shook her head. "No love, you have one dad. And one uncle who looks just like him."

"Like twins."

Rose nodded. "Sort of, yeah. Except at one point, they were quite literally the same person."

"The Doctor."

"Yes."

"And then one of them became dad."

"Yes."

"And you used to travel with the Doctor."

Rose nodded.

"But now you're living with dad."

"I live with you too, don't forget that." Rose poked at him softly.

Jack still looked sceptical. "If you and the Doctor loved each other so much, why would he travel on without you?"

Rose smiled sadly. "The Doctor has many great wonderful qualities. One of them is his selflessness. He knew that your dad needed me more and that I would be happy here with him."

"But now he's all alone."

"The Doctor always finds someone to share his TARDIS with," Rose did her best to smile, hoping Jack wouldn't see through it. "Don't worry about him too much sweetheart."

Jack looked about ready to ask her something else, so Rose put a stop to the conversation. "I tell you what love, you try and get some sleep and tomorrow dad and I will answer any questions you might have, all right?"

He frowned. "Can't I wait up for him?"

"It's late. I picked a really bad time to blurt out the truth, didn't I?" She rose from the bed and lifted the cover. "In you go."

Jack sighed, giving her a look of displeasure as he did what she said. "I have more questions."

"I know love," Rose bent down and kissed his forehead as she tucked him in properly. "But I won't be able to answer them all. Tomorrow we'll sit down the three of us and sort if all out, all right?"

"All right," Jack relented. It would give him time to come up with good questions. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Rose closed the door softly behind her. She leaned back against it with an inaudible sigh as she closed her eyes to rest, for just a moment.

--

When John came home, he found Rose in the kitchen. She was standing in front of the sink, her hands resting against the edge and her eyes locked on a point up in the sky through the window. He smiled slightly, coming up behind her. Often, the two would sit outside together just watching the few stars still scattered about. It was difficult to do in the city, with all the zeppelins in the way, but they always made the most of it.

"What you thinking about love?" he breathed into her neck, smiling wider as Rose leaned back against him.

"I might've told Jack tonight."

John frowned. "Might've told him what?" Rose turned in his arms.

"The truth about the two of us and how we met."

"Did you tell him…?" he trailed off with a raised eyebrow.

"That technically you're a clone made from the Doctor and Donna? Not in so few words, but yes."

"Oh." John glanced in the direction of Jack's bedroom. The door had been firmly closed. "Dare I ask how he took it?"

"You would've been proud of him. He just listened, took it all in." She smiled. "He's going to ask us a lot of questions in the morning though," she added, rolling her eyes affectionately. It was common knowledge around their house that Jack Michael Tyler was a question-asker.

"Why did you tell him tonight?"

Rose ran her hand up and down the front lapels of his coat. He still wore the Doctor's Time Lord Uniform of suit and long tan coat, for which she was glad. His single heart thumped steadily under her hand and she sighed. "I didn't mean to. I was just going to tell him how you and I got together. Unfortunately, our child is really rather clever and realised that I'm the former Doctor's companion Lily."

John nodded in understanding. "And then you had to tell him everything."

"He would've spent hours just turning it over in his head and I figured it would be better if I didn't let that happen." Rose looked up at her husband. "Forgive me?"

"Of course I do love." John leaned down and kissed her, sighing into her lips. Still, after all this time, he felt so incredibly lucky to be here with her. To have her and this life they shared. Even though this body had never been alone, he remembered the ache he'd felt in his whole being after he lost her.

It wasn't often that he thought of his memories from before in terms of his own – they were the Doctors and while the Doctor was still a part of him, it was easier for him – and for Rose – to separate the two. There was the Doctor, whom they both hoped had found someone to share the universe with, and then there was John Tyler; Rose's husband, Jack's father and the resident Torchwood expert.

Not a life he ever would've imagined himself leading one day, but one he cherished above all else. Because while he felt – too often to go unnoticed by his wife – the urge to travel, this was what he'd secretly always wanted; to be with Rose for the rest of his life.

He owed it to the Doctor to make the most of the life he'd been given, knowing just what the Time Lord had given up when he left them together.

Rose smiled up at him as they pulled away from the kiss, her hand reaching up to brush away his fringe. "You know he'll be up with the sun so he can start questioning us," she said, her tongue peaking out from between her teeth.

"Are you suggesting we retire to the bedroom for some rest?"

"I don't know about rest, but yes, let's retire to the bedroom at once."

John Tyler grinned as he followed his wife, her hand in his.

Even given the chance, he wouldn't trade this life for anything.

**The End.**


End file.
